Disappointed in Ruger American Rimfire Target

charliebrown1999

Sergeant of the Hide
Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 25, 2018
251
47
On February 3rd I purchased a Ruger American Rimfire Target model 8366. I am recovering from shoulder surgery cannot shoot my center fire rifles for 5 months. So the 22LR will provide some shooting time in the interim. I inspected the rifle when delivered to my FFL and found that the 10rd magazine as installed by the factory was stuck. It could not be removed using my, soon to be 83 year old fingers, and following the procedure outlined in the owner's manual. Five young male and female employees attempted to remove the magazine but all failed.

I sent an email to Ruger, explained the problem and asked for an RMA. They did respond within 2 days and I made an outer cardboard box, packaged and delivered it to the FEDEX Hub. I am disappointed in the QC at the factory in Mayodan NC. I am unset that Ruger failed me and I really miss my range time with a rifle. My mistake was not buying a CZ.


After waiting the statutory 10 day background check period, shipped the rifle to Ruger.
 
Sorry to hear you had this trouble. Also, this is the first time that I have heard of a Ruger rotary magazine being stuck in the gun and not being able to be removed. Would have been nice to know what caused this.
 
I had this exact issue come up in the recent past when I dropped my 10/22 barreled action into a new wood sporter stock, one of the mags would either not fully seat or it would seat and be difficult to remove using the typical manual of arms. That being said, a little push from the top through the ejection port and it flopped right out like it should've. Four other mags were tested and they all functioned perfectly fine and if the barreled action was out of the stock, the problem mag would lock up and drop free as normal. So I deduced that there must be just enough interference in the mag well and just enough tolerance stacking that it wasn't working. Taking my time to do a little sanding and fitting in the mag well and after about 20 minutes the issue was resolved and all the mags function just fine now. A little stain and TruOil and it's hard to tell anything was done around the magazine area.
 
  • Like
Reactions: charliebrown1999
I had an Ruger American Rimfire a few years ago. Just black synthetic stock and it would not retain the magazine. Had to send it away twice. In Canada we have a service facility that handles their warranty so IMO it wasn't Rugers fault the second time. I did have to wait along time for a replacement stock the second time
 
I have a 10/22 in an Archangel stock. 8 out of 10 magazines I have get stuck to varying degrees; some take just a little nudge through the chamber, some required a pretty good push. I measured the dimensions of all the magazines, found the ones that stick were a bit larger in width. I flat sanded the sides of the magazines a little at a time until they dropped free. The "pattern" I saw on the sides showed me the magazine bodies are fairly uneven, which is why some worked and some didnt. BTW, the one that worked best without any work was a clear one, the rest were black. It's possible the clear plastic holds its dimensions a bit better, most likely the bodies warp when they're popped out of the molds still hot so a stiffer plastic will hold it's shape better.
 
I had this exact issue come up in the recent past when I dropped my 10/22 barreled action into a new wood sporter stock, one of the mags would either not fully seat or it would seat and be difficult to remove using the typical manual of arms. That being said, a little push from the top through the ejection port and it flopped right out like it should've. Four other mags were tested and they all functioned perfectly fine and if the barreled action was out of the stock, the problem mag would lock up and drop free as normal. So I deduced that there must be just enough interference in the mag well and just enough tolerance stacking that it wasn't working. Taking my time to do a little sanding and fitting in the mag well and after about 20 minutes the issue was resolved and all the mags function just fine now. A little stain and TruOil and it's hard to tell anything was done around the magazine area.
I had this issue with a 10rd my brother gave me for a 10/22. It worked innhis but wouldn't seat in mine. I filed the mag catch on the magazine down some and now it drops freely.
 
On February 3rd I purchased a Ruger American Rimfire Target model 8366. I am recovering from shoulder surgery cannot shoot my center fire rifles for 5 months. So the 22LR will provide some shooting time in the interim. I inspected the rifle when delivered to my FFL and found that the 10rd magazine as installed by the factory was stuck. It could not be removed using my, soon to be 83 year old fingers, and following the procedure outlined in the owner's manual. Five young male and female employees attempted to remove the magazine but all failed.

I sent an email to Ruger, explained the problem and asked for an RMA. They did respond within 2 days and I made an outer cardboard box, packaged and delivered it to the FEDEX Hub. I am disappointed in the QC at the factory in Mayodan NC. I am unset that Ruger failed me and I really miss my range time with a rifle. My mistake was not buying a CZ.


After waiting the statutory 10 day background check period, shipped the rifle to Ruger.
I had one stuck in the thumb hole version, turns out the stock was cracked. Ruger made it right and it’s been a great rifle. They have always provided me excellent customer service.
 
I have an old ten round rotary and bought a three pack of new ones. The quality of the old one is immediately noticeable compared to the new ones. I had to take all three apart and smooth the steel lips. Also the tension on the springs was unbelievably over loaded. Some of them were loaded to twelve flats and would jam in the gun. Jamming was the reason I took them apart in the first place. The only one that worked in the gun was the old one. Once I did all the work smithing them they all worked perfect. I also saw on line where you could drill a hole in the magazine end plate in a place where you could look in the hole and see brass from the bullet and know it was a fully loaded mag. I did all my mags with that hole. My gun was an 8400 RPRR for reference. I did send Ruger an email about quality control on them. The mags are really important to feeding issues on the Ruger Rimfires.
 
Sometimes I think magazines and their functioning is an after thought at best with gun companies.
Seems like most of the problems with these .22's is with the mags. Either they dont work well or dont last long and are expensive to replace. I always liked the old tubular load systems.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MLone
sucks. was looking at for a cheap 22. ruger and savage B22 were on the list. the rotary mags put me off both. wanted better than the mk2 sav. couldn't afford cz. went with a howa and i am very pleased so far. always had good with their CFs so threw the dice.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Taylorbok
On February 3rd I purchased a Ruger American Rimfire Target model 8366. I am recovering from shoulder surgery cannot shoot my center fire rifles for 5 months. So the 22LR will provide some shooting time in the interim. I inspected the rifle when delivered to my FFL and found that the 10rd magazine as installed by the factory was stuck. It could not be removed using my, soon to be 83 year old fingers, and following the procedure outlined in the owner's manual. Five young male and female employees attempted to remove the magazine but all failed.

I sent an email to Ruger, explained the problem and asked for an RMA. They did respond within 2 days and I made an outer cardboard box, packaged and delivered it to the FEDEX Hub. I am disappointed in the QC at the factory in Mayodan NC. I am unset that Ruger failed me and I really miss my range time with a rifle. My mistake was not buying a CZ.


After waiting the statutory 10 day background check period, shipped the rifle to Ruger.
I had the same issue, turns out the laminate stock had cracked somewhere along the line. They replaced the stick gave me a couple magazines. It is frustrating to have a brand new rifle and it’s a mess from the git go. After that I now go over each rifle with a fine tooth comb before I fill out a form. If the firearm is not acceptable, I refuse it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Redlion